


Jell-O

by cadylee



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt Spencer Reid, I Tried, I'm also in love with Spencer Reid, M/M, Reid is scared of commitment, Season 4 episode 24, but who isn't, i write to ignore how single i am, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadylee/pseuds/cadylee
Summary: set in season 4 episode 24 and like- a few hypothetical days later.watching your boyfriend lock himself in a room of anthrax isn't fun by any means, but he'll be okay because he has you, right?please just read this i bring shy reid and jell-o to the table.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Comments: 18
Kudos: 225





	Jell-O

Spencer Reid really messed up this time; he had messed up to the point he was asleep in a hospital bed, thoughts running.

_‘Morgan, get… get back! Get back!’_

To be fair, how was he supposed to know he would step into a room full of anthrax on the floor? 

_It hadn’t taken him any thought to immediately decide to shut and lock that door and keep Derek away, knowing Derek would immediately try to fight it._

_‘Reid, open the door!’_

_‘I’m sorry.’_

_The look between them was one that said so much more than words could. The pair had never said those three words to each other, but they didn’t need to in that moment. Derek backed off, joining the growing team of people outside of the house._

Derek sat by Spencer’s hospital bed, knowing it was only a matter of time before he woke up. Hopefully. He didn’t know if he would be able to forgive himself if Spencer didn’t wake up okay. He had got distracted and let Spencer wander off, and he felt partially responsible for Spencer being in that situation alone.

_‘Hey, Reid.’_

_‘Gee, wow, no, uh... No witty Garcia greeting for me?’_

Spencer felt horrible for the way he had worried his coworkers and boyfriend. Reid had a habit of doing that, whether it was taking off his vest during de-escalation or locking himself in a room full of anthrax.

_‘I actually... I feel fine.’_

_‘Okay, if you feel any pain, I could give you something.’_

_‘No, I... I'd rather not take any pain medication.’_

_'We can at least make you feel more comfortable.’_

_‘I am comfortable, and I don't want to take any narcotics.’_

After Spencer’s Dilaudid addiction, the last thing he wanted was another drug in his system that could lead to another addiction. That was another way he had made his wonderful boyfriend worry about him. Spencer had tried to hide his rampant addiction from his boyfriend, but that hadn’t really worked (they had been getting a little touchy and Derek pulled his shirt off, Spencer temporarily forgetting that Derek would find). Since that moment, when he had seen Derek cry, he had promised himself he would do his best to keep Derek out of situations where Reid would be the source of his pain.

_‘Reid, I'm gonna see you off to the hospital.’_

_‘I'm about to get naked so they can scrub me down. Is that something you really want to see?’_

_‘I'll check on you later.’_

_Derek would be lying if he said that wasn’t something he wanted to see. However, not under that circumstance. Overcome with worry and panic, he had decided he would sit in Spencer’s hospital room the second he was given clearance to, and wouldn’t leave until his boyfriend was awake._

And here he was, Jell-O in hand, reading his paper and glancing up at Spencer frequently. Nobody had questioned Derek’s constant presence. They hadn’t told anyone of their relationship, but they appeared so close that everyone considered it normal for them to be so clingy with each other. Spencer finally opened his eyes, seeing Derek with one of his favorite snacks.

“You’re eating Jello-O?” Spencer asked, Derek nodding and giving a sound of confirmation.

“Is there any more Jell-O?” He once again asked a question related to the snack, leaning over to do what Derek could only assume was kiss him, at least until Derek spoke to Dr. Kimura, which gave Spencer the reality check that they weren’t alone.

Morgan didn’t let Reid out of his sight for the next few days, knowing he almost lost the love of his life. The team excused the behavior as normal until the next jet trip, in which he demanded to sit next to Reid. Spencer had decided to rest his head on Derek’s shoulder as they looked at case files together, Derek’s arm around his boyfriend. The rest of the BAU were going to ignore it and just push it off; then Derek whispered something to Spencer and kissed him. Spencer’s eyes widened, not expecting the relatively public display of affection.

The rest of the team either laughed or made cheering noises, Garcia being the most dramatic via video call. The boys leaned into each other, Spencer beyond embarrassed. Neither said anything until they saw Hotch slip Rossi a $20 bill and Prentiss slip JJ a $50.

“You guys put bets on if we were dating?” Reid asked, rolling his eyes.

“Not when,” Prentiss corrected, “more like who was going to spill it first. We pretty much all knew.”

“I can’t believe this,” Spencer said, Derek laughing at the entire situation.

“We have a while until we land, so I want details. First dates, who asked who out, who said ‘I love you’ first, all of it,” JJ said, Derek groaning, even though he was smiling.

“Derek asked me out to dinner about two years and six months ago, that was our first date,” Reid explained, Morgan immediately shaking his head.

“It was supposed to be two years and eight months ago. Pretty boy was just too oblivious to realize the dinners for the two months before that were intended to be dates,” Derek corrected with a laugh.

“We’ve been exclusively together for two years and six months then. We haven’t said… that yet,” Reid said, refusing to say the words while answering JJ’s last question.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t love me,” Morgan said, dramatically grabbing his chest. He knew the only reason Spencer hadn’t physically said he loved him even though it had been that long was because Spencer was afraid of being hurt. They showed it other ways; gentle touches and other words. Maybe their relationship length was really long to go without saying that phrase, but it held so much meaning that Derek wasn’t concerned. He was happy with their current situation. Reid panicked.

“Of course I love you, Derek! I have for years,” he mumbled the last sentence, but Derek heard it (everyone did). And then Spencer realized what he had just said in front of the entire BAU, burying his head in Derek’s chest while groaning, face flushed red.

“I love you too, Spencer. I just wish this moment was a little more private,” he said gently, kissing the top of his boyfriend’s head. Everyone was silent, gently allowing for the moment, until Garcia came blaring through the laptop speakers.

“Awww, how adorable!” She exclaimed, Emily and JJ laughing as they started with another round of questions.

“Where did you ask Reid out the first time?” Prentiss asked.

“Just the elevator after work,” Derek admitted, JJ rolling her eyes at how absolutely lame that was.

“Is Derek a good kisser? Since he’s such a ladies man,” Garcia quipped from over the call.

“The best kisser I’ve ever known,” Spencer mumbled, hiding his face in his hands.

“Is Reid good in be-” JJ started, Hotch cutting her off.

“I’ve entertained this long enough, but I will not tolerate hearing about the bedroom activities of my coworkers.”

Derek laughed, turning toward JJ and Prentiss and nodding before making a suggestive gesture using his hand and mouth, earning a swift smack in the chest from Spencer. Derek just laughed and kissed his head gently.

Nothing about their relationship was extremely normal, given their line of work and the fact that they were coworkers. But they made it work the best they could, and they genuinely loved each other. Reid kept doing stupid things in the field and ended up in hospital bed after hospital bed, but Derek would always be there with a cup of Jell-O and a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold. And Spencer loved him for that.

Spencer loved him.

**Author's Note:**

> comment feedback!! i'm not exactly happy with this one so i might delete it we'll see


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